2025 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: #3 New York Knicks vs #4 Indiana Pacers (IND leads 2-1)

[Iwasawitness]

I don’t understand this mindset. It’s the same stupid **** we heard in the previous series with Cleveland. In fact we hear it all the time.

Why is it that when one team loses, they’re frauds? We can see what’s happening out there with our eyes. Why is this always the conclusion we draw to?

Or better yet: why is it so hard to give opposing teams more credit for playing great? Why isn’t this a matter of the Pacers just being that good? They’re playing excellent defense, hitting their shots, executing at a high level, but for some reason it’s “the Knicks are frauds”.

Revisiting this again because guess what? NY won the game. Womp womp.

If you lose the first two games at home you’re a fraud. It is what it is. In the conference finals, teams that lost their first two home games have a 0-11 record.

No, Indiana is just that good.

[EricAnderson]

its not a series unless the knicks win game 4, for now, its just an interruption. Ditto for the wolves

Yeah, but it was getting really dark. Now, we have a glimmer. And maybe some tools to work with.

I think tonight made this a series. It would be a fairly big upset if this series doesn’t go at least 6 games right now. The odds of this ending in 5 Games is +300 right now from the sports books. Obviously as a Knicks fan I would rather win game 4, but I feel like the worst case scenario has us playing a game 6 in Indy with a chance to force game 7 at home. I’d be pretty surprised if the Knicks aren’t *at least* in that position

Yeah going into yesterday as a Knicks fan my mentality was find away to win one in Indiana then finally win a game in MSG in game 5 and your down 3-2 headed to Indiana with at least a shot to send it to game 7

Now they have a shot to make it 2-2 and really make this epic.

Still got a lot of work to do.. There in an extremely weird position considering they’ve looked better at times without thier best player but at least they’ve got a shot

If you want to look at the glass half full you can say Brunson is due to explode next game offensively

[The4thHorseman]

I don’t understand this mindset. It’s the same stupid **** we heard in the previous series with Cleveland. In fact we hear it all the time.

Why is it that when one team loses, they’re frauds? We can see what’s happening out there with our eyes. Why is this always the conclusion we draw to?

Or better yet: why is it so hard to give opposing teams more credit for playing great? Why isn’t this a matter of the Pacers just being that good? They’re playing excellent defense, hitting their shots, executing at a high level, but for some reason it’s “the Knicks are frauds”.

Revisiting this again because guess what? NY won the game. Womp womp.

If you lose the first two games at home you’re a fraud. It is what it is. In the conference finals, teams that lost their first two home games have a 0-11 record.

Well, NY had never won at Indy (in the postseason) until last night soooooooo things are looking up for the Knicks right now. Haliburton's got some more choke left in him.

[JulesWinnfield]

Revisiting this again because guess what? NY won the game. Womp womp.

If you lose the first two games at home you’re a fraud. It is what it is. In the conference finals, teams that lost their first two home games have a 0-11 record.

Well, NY had never won at Indy (in the postseason) until last night soooooooo things are looking up for the Knicks right now. Haliburton's got some more choke left in him.

For clarification, the Knicks had won in Indy several times in the playoffs, including multiple times when facing elimination (game 6 1994, game 6 1995), and also eliminated Indy on their home court in 93, won a game 5 there with the series tied at 2 in the 99 ECF. They just hadn’t won in the new building (which went up in the 99-00 season) until last night. I understand those games are totally irrelevant to what’s happening in 2025, but as an older Knicks fan hearing that statistic so many times in the past week got under my skin a bit lol.

[LFGK]

I don’t understand this mindset. It’s the same stupid **** we heard in the previous series with Cleveland. In fact we hear it all the time.

Why is it that when one team loses, they’re frauds? We can see what’s happening out there with our eyes. Why is this always the conclusion we draw to?

Or better yet: why is it so hard to give opposing teams more credit for playing great? Why isn’t this a matter of the Pacers just being that good? They’re playing excellent defense, hitting their shots, executing at a high level, but for some reason it’s “the Knicks are frauds”.

Revisiting this again because guess what? NY won the game. Womp womp.

If you lose the first two games at home you’re a fraud. It is what it is. In the conference finals, teams that lost their first two home games have a 0-11 record.

so what happens when you lose games 3-4 at home after winning 1-2 on the road in the CF? does that make said team a fraud? asking for a friend...

[Nuntius]

Let's see if Nesmith plays game 4. I know that he returned to the game but it's not a given that he'll be good to go for game 4. We saw it with Mobley in game 1 against the Cavs. Adrenaline can allow you to play through injury the game it happens but two days later is a whole different discussion.

Regardless, we really need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that Nesmith is out game 4 and perhaps even longer. We need to be psychologically ready for it and keep playing through adversity. Injuries are a part the game so it needs to be next man up.

[The4thHorseman]

If you lose the first two games at home you’re a fraud. It is what it is. In the conference finals, teams that lost their first two home games have a 0-11 record.

Well, NY had never won at Indy (in the postseason) until last night soooooooo things are looking up for the Knicks right now. Haliburton's got some more choke left in him.

For clarification, the Knicks had won in Indy several times in the playoffs, including multiple times when facing elimination (game 6 1994, game 6 1995), and also eliminated Indy on their home court in 93, won a game 5 there with the series tied at 2 in the 99 ECF. They just hadn’t won in the new building (which went up in the 99-00 season) until last night. I understand those games are totally irrelevant to what’s happening in 2025, but as an older Knicks fan hearing that statistic so many times in the past week got under my skin a bit lol.

I thought that sounded kinda shady but who am I to question Kevin Harlen??

[LFGK]

Let's see if Nesmith plays game 4. I know that he returned to the game but it's not a given that he'll be good to go for game 4. We saw it with Mobley in game 1 against the Cavs. Adrenaline can allow you to play through injury the game it happens but two days later is a whole different discussion.

Regardless, we really need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that Nesmith is out game 4 and perhaps even longer. We need to be psychologically ready for it and keep playing through adversity. Injuries are a part the game so it needs to be next man up.

I think he will play, will that be good or bad we will see, Need Brunson to attack him every chance he gets to test it out. Big game 4 tomorrow.

[Froob]

The Knicks have a problem of not getting Kat the ball. Maybe because Thibs sucks on offense and Brunson is not a real point guard. Even when Kat was on fire, they almost froze him out a few times.

I mean yeah he could be like Shaq and demand the ball but he obviously doesn't have that type of personality. If you have an offensive talent like him you should be maximizing him.

KAT has a huge impact on the game even without the ball. We go to him often enough...when he's not in foul trouble *sigh*...but even when we don't having him out there spacing just breaks defenses for the rest of the crew.

the guy also gets a tough whistle, guess that happens when you have a reputation for dumb fouls. some of the offensive fouls he gets called for would never get called on embiid.

[Lunartic]

Cam Payne is possibly the lowest BBall IQ player in the league

[LFGK]

The Knicks have a problem of not getting Kat the ball. Maybe because Thibs sucks on offense and Brunson is not a real point guard. Even when Kat was on fire, they almost froze him out a few times.

I mean yeah he could be like Shaq and demand the ball but he obviously doesn't have that type of personality. If you have an offensive talent like him you should be maximizing him.

KAT has a huge impact on the game even without the ball. We go to him often enough...when he's not in foul trouble *sigh*...but even when we don't having him out there spacing just breaks defenses for the rest of the crew.

the guy also gets a tough whistle, guess that happens when you have a reputation for dumb fouls. some of the offensive fouls he gets called for would never get called on embiid.

that one offensive foul he got called for on the and1 when haliburton had his on arm him, absurd.

[Froob]

Cam Payne is possibly the lowest BBall IQ player in the league

he’s on the same team as kat and somehow isn’t the dumbest player

[Froob]

KAT has a huge impact on the game even without the ball. We go to him often enough...when he's not in foul trouble *sigh*...but even when we don't having him out there spacing just breaks defenses for the rest of the crew.

the guy also gets a tough whistle, guess that happens when you have a reputation for dumb fouls. some of the offensive fouls he gets called for would never get called on embiid.

that one offensive foul he got called for on the and1 when haliburton had his on arm him, absurd.

should have been a no call definitely not a charge though. most players they wouldn’t have even overturned it

[Im Coming Home]

The Knicks have a problem of not getting Kat the ball. Maybe because Thibs sucks on offense and Brunson is not a real point guard. Even when Kat was on fire, they almost froze him out a few times.

I mean yeah he could be like Shaq and demand the ball but he obviously doesn't have that type of personality. If you have an offensive talent like him you should be maximizing him.

KAT has a huge impact on the game even without the ball. We go to him often enough...when he's not in foul trouble *sigh*...but even when we don't having him out there spacing just breaks defenses for the rest of the crew.

the guy also gets a tough whistle, guess that happens when you have a reputation for dumb fouls. some of the offensive fouls he gets called for would never get called on embiid.

It's honestly the worst I've seen

The calls that go against KAT vs the calls that are not called for KAT has to be the biggest discrepancy I've ever seen.

KAT routinely gets fouled going into the paint, yet no whistle on a ton of them.

KAT breathes on the opposing players, whistle.

Beginning of the game KAT got a rebound and fouled, the next play he got another offensive rebound, fouled the same exact way, no call. Felt like the refs were like "he just got a call can't give him another" or something. And he proceeded to air ball the little hook/layup. Luckily Mitch cleaned it up but still.

Then down the other end Myles Turner gets 3 back to back foul calls for himself on Deuce McBride even though Turner clearly went over the back foul on Hart on the same play, yet refs were willing to call those 3 fouls on the same damn possession. Doesn't make sense.

[scrabbarista]

Sheesh, just heard Windhorst say the Knicks played 15 lineups in Game 3, and seven of them had never played together.

Seven!

[flow]

Pacers will still win this series. Knicks threw the series away with that game 1 choke, which is something you cannot do in matchup where the teams are damn near even.

Luckily Indy threw us a bone with their choke job last night

Knicks showed they can be champs

Pacers choked but it’s one game

'Choke' is a cool word to use, but too many liberties are being taken with it now. Last night was not a choke. Indy jumped out to a lead, but got decisively out-played in the second half. The Knicks wanted it more and played with more intensity & desperation.

A choke is when you blow a comfortable lead down the stretch of the 4th quarter. The game is all but won, you start playing tight, you screw up, and next thing you know, defeat is snatched from the jaws of victory. Game 1 was a choke. Game 2 Cavs/Indy was a choke. Last night, NY was simply the better team and deserved to win.

.

[cjx]

Most Important Players in the Association:
Aaron Nesmith
Alex Caruso
Aaron Gordon
Steven Adams
Caris LeVert

And you know it's true, Fam !

[NoStatsGuy]

There is a reason this KAT showed up. Brunson was on the bench.

how does it correlate? enlighten me pls. pls miss me with the ballhog, isoball narrative. Brunson is the first to sacrifice shots, if you had watched any knicks games before this series you would know that aswell.

he cant trust his teammates. because mikal, og, KAT legit only show up half the games they play.

I think you're overstating things in the opposite direction. Jalen is often a slow starter in games, in part because he's finding his own rhythm / setting defenders up for later...but also because he spends a lot of the first half letting his team-mates see who's got it on the night. That's why some games Jalen is happy to toss the ball out to Karl or Mikal for the game winner and other games he goes 1-on-5.

I'm amenable to the argument that a great enough playmaker can get his team-mates hot even when they don't have it...but Jalen isn't that level of playmaker. He's a natural scorer who's good at looking for his team-mates when his gravity warps a defense.

my point was more, that i dont think KAT played great because JB was on the bench as the poster has implied.

i know exactly what you mean and kind of was the point i was making aswell. brunsons FGAs went down this year because we have more weapons than last year. and because hes a great scorer and a PG that looks for his scoring first and foremost, i think its even a bigger prove to my point. He is the one that sacrifices shots more than anybody else. and he always tries to look for the other guys, especially early.

but as you said, hes not an elite guy at getting the other guys hot. so if they dont have it, hes turning it on. obviously not always, there are always the games in between. not everything is as black and white. Hes not a ballhog and hes not haliburton or jokic in terms of looking for his teammates.

With all that being said, no one would complain if KAT came out aggressive every game and demands the ball every possession. thats what i would like to see from kat. and im sure, brunson is happy to pass him the ball.

[NoStatsGuy]

Well, NY had never won at Indy (in the postseason) until last night soooooooo things are looking up for the Knicks right now. Haliburton's got some more choke left in him.

For clarification, the Knicks had won in Indy several times in the playoffs, including multiple times when facing elimination (game 6 1994, game 6 1995), and also eliminated Indy on their home court in 93, won a game 5 there with the series tied at 2 in the 99 ECF. They just hadn’t won in the new building (which went up in the 99-00 season) until last night. I understand those games are totally irrelevant to what’s happening in 2025, but as an older Knicks fan hearing that statistic so many times in the past week got under my skin a bit lol.

I thought that sounded kinda shady but who am I to question Kevin Harlen??

people always make it look like indy killed the knicks in the 90s. when in reality it was a fairly balanced rivalry with the knicks going to the finals 2 times. but all people really know is the reggie game from 94. it is what it is.

[cgf]

KAT won this game.

KAT and our defense. Even with KAT going off we lose if they score 114 again. But that was a real big boy performance from Karl when we needed him. Not only offensively but avoiding that 6th foul...but none of that makes Brunson a ball hog who stops the offense.

We don't win game 4 against Detroit without Jalen looking to Karl to score our final 5pts in that game. We don't make it to OT against Boston in game 1 without Brunson setting OG up for the go ahead bucket. When his team-mates have it going, Brunson has done a really good job of setting them up this year...and when nobody else has been cooking, Jalen has come through with the hard-carry.

I thought KAT was god awful for the first 3 quarters, and a big reason why NY could never get anything going and found themselves in a hole in the first place. I created a post asking why there wasn’t one of the ever-popular bashing threads, and boom! Right when he went off. So he made up for it, but he was really bad before the 4th.

Talking heads or not, the blown game 1 was a ton of Jalen pounding the ball against a tough set defense late while everyone else stood around watching. Maybe that’s atypical, but that’s still what happened in that instance, and anyone would be right to call it out.

If Karl had hit his FTs we’d have won game 1…even with Nesmith going supernova.